Brain Videos

Sometimes I see concepts in pictures.

What does this mean, you ask?

If I’m thinking about something abstract, I will get these little videos that play in my head. I believe it is because I’m a visual learner. I require a picture to be drawn on paper or a concept to be laid out in some kind of visual form if you want me to truly get what you’re talking about.

I don’t understand what you mean when you say ‘the room is 10’x15’. When we were designing a home with an architect, I required tape on a floor or people standing at the corners of the imaginary area so I could visualize the size of the kitchen.  Seriously, my brain just does NOT work in abstract concepts.

I’m not entirely sure why God created me this way. However,…. what I really love about this part of me is that while studying scripture or praying, I often get these pictures or videos in my head to help me better understand a concept. Many times, the pictures or videos are complex and I have to draw them in order to journal about them.

Except when I got an image about fear. This was very straight forward and words could easily describe it.

Before I tell you though, I want to assure you, my entrepreneurial friend, that if you have ever been confronted with fear, you are not alone. 

In my consulting business, I’ve worked with enough entrepreneurs to know we all experience it in some form and to some degree. After consulting as many as I have, I’m able to spot entrepreneurial fear from a mile away. Here’s what fear does;

it stifles
it steals
it paralyzes
it debilitates
it’s a dark place
it beats you down
it makes up stories
it sees only the worst
it takes away your peace
it makes you question yourself
it distracts you from your purpose
it’s gets you away and makes you feel alone

How do I know it does all of these things? I’ll be super transparent with you…..I battle fear.

Yep.

There!

I said it.

I’ve felt all of these things.

You’re not alone.

It doesn’t make you a bad or weak Christian. I just means you’re on a path the enemy doesn’t like so he’s working to get into your head. He wants you to give up and will hit you where it makes the most impact.

But there’s one place it has no impact. It cannot remove you from Jesus or your relationship with Him.

Let’s just stop for a second and let that sink in…….

Fear has no dominion over your relationship with Jesus. Fear cannot keep you from getting quiet and in the presence of Jesus. It can’t stop you from handing that fear over to Him.

I did. And if I can, you can.

When I was visually handing my fear over to Jesus is when I got this image in my mind.  The fear was like this black gooey slime. It would have been great if fear was like a pebble and we could place it in Jesus’ hand. But this image in my head wasn’t a simple pebble. It was a black goo, a thick liquid that I couldn’t contain at all. It wouldn’t stay in my hands without oozing between my fingers. I covered me like a slimy veil.

This is what fear does. It oozes into every part of our lives and finds a way to change the way life looks and how we react. It molds to thoughts and then morphs them into lies. Its darkness distorts our view and keeps us from clearly seeing God’s purpose for our lives. We try to keep it contained. But this black goo won’t be contained within our own power.

But the power of Jesus is a whole other story. In my brain video, He took it from me. Jesus simply took it. It was gone. This black goo that slowed me down, distorted my view, stole my peace and distracted me from my purpose just simply lifted out and off of me.  Its absence freed me to be and do what God had for me to be and do.

When I got quiet and sought His presence, He met me right where I was. It wasn’t a process of hours of crying and pleading. It was in a moment. Getting 100% honest with God and asking earnestly is where He has always met me.

And it didn’t stop there. To replace the black goo, God filled me with a light, bright peace. It was non-chaotic and set a pace in my life different from anything I’d ever experienced.

When fear is removed and God’s peace permeates …. His plan comes into focus. We realize He has gone before us. It’s HIS plan, right? His yoke is light and His burden is easy.

My prayer for you today…….

I pray that you will find a time to get quiet before God and offer the fear to Him. I pray that any black gooey slime (fear) which has attached itself to you, is lifted off of and out of you. Even if you don’t recognize it as fear, I pray that you are freed, instantly, forever!!  I pray your purpose comes into crystal clear focus. I pray that paths you aren’t meant to walk are closed over so you have to find God’s clear and open path for you.

I pray for the entrepreneurial things too.

• I pray all of your clients pay before the due date.
• I pray you have sales in January which beat all of your previous Januarys.
• I pray that your staff has so much buy-in to what your purpose is, that they are assets beyond your wildest dreams.
• I pray for the clients who haven’t found you yet.
• I pray that all of your marketing falls on the ears of those who see your value.
• I pray that you get time off and, in that time off, you are 100% refreshed and restored.
• I pray that money becomes a tool for your business and not an anxiety.
• I pray you’re able to get your bookkeeping complete and to your CPA for tax prep without incident and long before the deadline.

And one last thing before I stop writing this blog which has gone FAR longer than I intended…..

There are a couple of songs that I love and make me feel powerful against fear. I hope these help you, too.

Fear is a Liar by Zach Williams
Defender by Rita Springer

Very Humbly Yours,

Jennifer Edwards
Fearless in Jesus

Photo by Robert Zunikoff on Unsplash